ISIL kills 102-year-old Syrian man in Alawite massacre – report

ARCHIVE PHOTO: Damage is seen inside a former base used by fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), after they withdrew from the town of Azaz, near the Syrian-Turkish border, March 11, 2014. (Reuters / Hamid Khatib) / Reuters

A 102-year-old Syrian man was shot dead while sleeping, along with his entire family, according to a new report of atrocities committed by the merciless ISIL jihadist group fighting the forces of Bashar Assad.

The radical rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) also murdered the man’s son, his grandson, his
great-granddaughter, and her mother, AFP reported, citing the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The killing took place as
ISIL attacked the village of Zanuba in Hama governorate.

"Some members of the family were burned alive, others killed
in their sleep," the Observatory added.

The family was from the minority Alawite group – an offshoot of
Shia Islam, to which Syrian President Bashar Assad belongs.

ISIL, renowned for its involvement in beheadings and
crucifixions, is described as the most bloodthirsty terrorist
group fighting the Syrian regime. Rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Iraq
branch, it is aimed at establishing a caliphate in the Sunni
majority part of Iraq, and in Syria. It is active in both
countries and is comprised of fighters of various nationalities.
In February 2014, Al-Qaeda cut ties with ISIL over months of
power struggle.

ISIL’s ruthless tactics, jihadist objectives, and foreign
contingent have made them the enemies of the moderate Syrian
rebels who now have to fight both government forces and the
radicals.

Recently, a senior Free Syrian Army commander said that British nationals in Syria make up the
majority of the foreign members of ISIL.

“They are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists. We, the
Syrian people now experience beheadings, crucifixions, beatings,
murders, outdated methods of treating women, an obsolete approach
to governing society. Many who participate in these activities
are British,” Free Syrian Army’s Brigadier-General
Abdulellah Basheer wrote in a letter to The Times.

According to Basheer, the group is predominantly foreign, with
other fighters hailing from France, Germany, and Belgium, as well
as a range of countries across the Middle East and Africa.